Fuel leaks in aircraft can be a serious threat. After all, without fuel, the aircraft cannot fly and becomes one huge glider. Following a suspected fuel leak on Monday a British Airways Boeing 777 was forced to divert to St John’s midway through its transatlantic journey. Thankfully, the aircraft made its diversion safely without further incident.

British Airways flight 253

Flight BA253 is a British Airways flight to George Town from Heathrow. However, the flight is not direct. It first makes a stop in Nassau en route to George Town.

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The flight is scheduled to operate as follows:

BA253 departs from London Heathrow (LHR) at 09:35. The flight is then scheduled to land in Nassau (NAS) at 15:25.

The aircraft then spends 60 minutes on the ground in Nassau.

BA253 is then scheduled to depart Nassau at 16:25, touching down in George Town at 17:05.

What about Monday’s flight?

On Monday BA 253 didn’t make it to Nassau. Midway through its transatlantic crossing, the aircraft had to divert to St John’s. The pilots believed that the aircraft had a fuel leak. As is always the best course of action, the pilots decided to adopt the safe rather than sorry school of thought.

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The aircraft turned towards St John’s midway across the Atlantic as the airport would’ve been the closest diversion airport to the aircraft at the time. According to data from FlightRadar24.com, the aircraft touched down in St John’s at 16:41 UTC, around six and half hours after taking off from London Heathrow Airport. According to the Av Herald, the aircraft landed around 100 minutes after the fuel leak was first suspected.

St John’s Rescue

The Av Herald reported that, upon arrival in St John’s, the pilots of the Boeing 777 requested that emergency services check the aircraft for fuel leaks. However, it is unclear what was found upon arrival. According to data the Boeing 777-200, registered as G-YMMU, is still on the ground in Canada.

The next day a replacement Boeing 777 (G-YMMA) flew to St John’s to pick up the stranded passengers to continue their journey to Nassau, before continuing to George Town. It arrived in George Town at 23:16 on the 5th of November.

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Simple Flying contacted British Airways for comment, however, have not received a response at the time of writing.

Were you onboard the affected flight? What did you experience? Let us know in the comments section.

Content Manager – Degree educated in Aerospace Technology, this certified pilot is a passionate specialist in European aviation. Working closely with British Airways, Lufthansa and others, Tom provides commentary on topical issues for outlets including the BBC. Based in Frankfurt, Germany.